


Good Boys (Guard Dogs Week 2021)

by KatMotif



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Box of chocolates, Cinder nightmare, Duty/Payload, Fluff and Humor, Guard Dogs Week 2021, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, I'm gonna try my best here, M/M, Nightmares, Ship Week Fics, V8 spoilers, Valentine's Day, Watching Movies, You Tried Jaune, atlas ball, coffee shop AU, dream/nightmare, food allergies, horror movies, movies - Freeform, neither jaune or marrow can handle horror, they're both soft boys okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29931918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatMotif/pseuds/KatMotif
Summary: Another ship week, another set of ficlets, this time focused on Jaune Arc and Marrow Amin and the ship Guard Dogs. I'm gonna write some short fics about two good boys and the potential they have to maybe fall in love?Day 1 - Valentine’s DayDay 2 - Atlas BallDay 3 - Movies (could be movie-inspired or just a movie night)Day 4 - Duty/PayloadDay 5 - Dream/NightmareDay 6 - Coffee Shop AUDay 7 - Free Day
Relationships: Marrow Amin/Jaune Arc
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. Box of Chocolates

Jaune’s hand shook as he held the box of chocolates in his hand. Valentine’s Day had just snuck up on him, snuck up on him just like his crush on Marrow Amin of the Ace Ops. It felt so sudden, one day he was giving the Atlesian Soldier his coffee and the next he found himself making an extra one just to see his cute smile. There was a part of him still hesitant, the last romantic relationship...well, it hadn’t quite gotten there yet, a kiss being the only thing Pyrrha had given before leaving him to fight Cinder. But he knew he couldn’t pine after someone who was already gone forever; Pyrrha would want him to move on and be happy eventually.

And heck, Marrow was cute. Like, really cute. His smile was contagious and he was energetic and fun to talk to. And, just, really handsome. Just, really,  _ really _ handsome. So handsome that it really took Jaune aback at first. He wondered how long Marrow’s hair was when let down from the bun he kept it in, how soft his hair was. It had gotten to the point where Nora was starting to tease him for it.

“Just ask him out. He’s only two years older than us, it’s not weird or anything. Plus, it would be cute!” Nora playfully bantered over breakfast one morning.

“Shut up.” Jaune muttered, face reddened over his pancakes and eggs. But the next thing he knew it was the day before Valentine’s Day and a part of him nagged him to make a move, get Marrow something he’d like. He figured he couldn’t go wrong with chocolate; everyone loves chocolate, of course.

So when he presented the box of chocolates to Marrow, he didn’t expect the older man’s face to falter slightly, a nervous laugh coming from an awkward grin.

“I appreciate the thought,” Marrow explained, shakily, “But I’m actually really allergic to chocolate; not like, deathly so but I’ll get a  _ really _ bad rash.”

“...oh.” Jaune murmured, shoulders falling and his head lowering, eyes drifting to the ground.  _ Stupid! You’re so stupid! How did you not think of that? _

“Hey, I appreciate the thought, though!” Marrow piped, waving his hands wildly, his face reddening a bit, “I mean, I, I mean...if you want, we could go for coffee later? My treat?”

Jaune looked up, his heart skipping a beat at the offer. He smiled.

“Okay, sure.”

The box of chocolates ended up in Nora’s hands, Jaune telling her not to tell Ren where she’d gotten it from, of course. He had a date to get ready for, anyway.


	2. A Dance (Atlas Ball)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Jaune wants is to have a dance with Marrow. Surely that wouldn't be too much to ask?

The last time Jaune had gone to something like this, it was the Beacon Dance, a night he would never forget for the rest of his life. The similarities were vague at best, Atlas Academy throwing a much higher class party than Beacon had. Even how they were dressed, meticulous and with help from Weiss to better fit into their environment, was classier. The suit he was wearing was more expensive than any clothes Jaune actually owned, and it was a rental. 

Unlike the first dance, Jaune had a much less convoluted plan. After all, all he was planning on doing was getting a dance with Marrow. Sure, technically speaking, Marrow would be on duty, along with the other Ace Ops. But he still wanted to get a dance with the rookie, even if they had to be really sneaky about it. Jaune was going to get that dance, even if it meant he’d be punished for it somehow. What were they going to do? Make him walk twice as many children across the street?

So he straightened his tie before approaching Marrow. The more formal uniform he wore was more blue than white; a color that looked really good on the older soldier. None of the other Ace Ops were around, which made the opportunity perfect. Clearing his throat, he paused a moment when Marrow’s eyes darted to him.

“Hey!” Jaune cheered, grinning widely.

“Oh, hey.” Marrow said, snapping out of his thoughts. Clearly, he was bored, standing guard in the ballroom.

“I was just wondering…” Jaune stammered, he blushed and looked down, “I mean, if you’re not too busy…”

“What’s up, Juan?” Marrow interrupted, giving him his full attention and a tail wag. Jaune grimaced slightly as the faunus still didn’t get his name right.  _ He’ll get it right...eventually. _

“...do you wanna dance?” Jaune asked. Marrow stared blankly for a moment, before red rose in his cheeks. He looked both ways for a moment, likely looking around to make sure he wouldn’t get any flack for it.

“I mean, I’m kind of on duty...but...sure.”

“It’ll be quick, I promise.” Jaune piped, beaming. He took one of Marrow’s (surprisingly soft) hands in his and led him out to the dance floor. Once in a spot where Jaune was sure enough they wouldn’t be seen, he placed his free hand on Marrow’s waist. The faunus blinked in surprise, and his eyes darted down a bit, a smile rising.

“I have to admit, I-I’ve never really... _ danced _ before. Like this.” Marrow stammered a bit. Jaune chuckled.

“It’s okay. I had seven sisters, so I learned pretty quickly.” Jaune explained, leading Marrow in a slow waltz. Marrow was a little awkward, but not so much that he was stepping on Jaune’s feet. Jaune didn’t mind, because despite his lack of experience, he could tell Marrow was enjoying their dance; it was hard to miss when his tail was wagging like it was.

“I know you and I don’t know each other that well yet, but...I think you’re...cute.” Jaune spoke softly. Marrow’s expression faded a bit, something that confused Jaune a bit.

“What? Like a puppy?” Marrow muttered, looking down a bit. Their dance paused. Jaune inwardly scolded himself for his word choice, but as if someone with more confidence was whispering in his ear, he managed to find the words he hoped would fix it.

“No. Like, a really hot guy.” Jaune murmured back. Marrow’s face reddened again and he looked up at Jaune. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know--”

“No, no. Don’t...worry about it. I should’ve known you’re not...like that.” Marrow interrupted now. “And for the record, you’re really cute too.”

It was Jaune’s turn to blush. If someone had told Jaune someone in Atlas was going to make him blush like this while they were still in Argus, he would have shot eye-daggers at them. He would have said he was still healing from his loss. But here he was, moving on, knowing now that he was well within his right to. Their eyes met. Jaune took a deep breath.

“Amin, what the hell are you doing?” Harriet said, approaching them. Her tone of voice was a hushed scold, and her hands were crossed.

“I-I was just…” Marrow stammered, letting go of Jaune and waving his arms.

“Just get back to your post.” Harriet ordered. Marrow sighed, nodding to Jaune, a wordless apology before going back to his post. Before Jaune could say anything, though, he noticed the other Ace Op smirking at him.

“He’ll be off duty in another hour, you can dance with Marrow all you want after.” Harriet said, winking before she too returned to her post.

_ Oh right. They’re working in shifts. I’m an idiot. _ Jaune though, facepalming. He knew Marrow was probably going to get scolded for dancing with him during his shift. But Jaune had an idea of how to make it up to him. He just needed to find a dress in less than an hour.


	3. Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marrow invites Jaune to his apartment to watch a movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late, lol.

“So, what kind of movies do you like?” Marrow asked, looking over to Jaune, sitting on the edge of the couch in his black sweater and blue jeans. He’d invited the younger huntsman over to his apartment to watch a movie, thinking it was a good way to break the ice and get to know at least one of them. Plus, Jaune  _ was _ nice enough to share his coffee with him. His name was a little weird to pronounce, Marrow often catching himself calling him  _ Juan _ instead, but he did rather like the guy already. It had been a while, a long while, since Marrow had been genuinely interested in anyone, his duties overriding any personal relationships save keeping in touch with his parents.

“Oh, you can put on whatever you want. I’m up for anything.” Jaune said, barely hiding the nerves in his voice as he snapped his drifting attention back to Marrow, his pale cheeks reddening a little bit. 

“You’re my guest. If there’s any particular genre you’d like to watch...as long as it’s not rom-coms or something.” Marrow said with a chuckle. (He was fibbing; he actually absolutely loved rom-coms, but Jaune didn’t need to know that...yet.)

“Is there anything...you haven’t watched yet?” Jaune asked. Marrow thought for a moment, reaching underneath the collar of the white turtleneck he wore, scratching.

“There is this one film that Elm lent me, but...it’s a horror film. I don’t know if you’re into that.” Marrow muttered, grinning nervously. Truth be told, he’d been putting off watching it for a week now; he hated horror films but Elm insisted on lending him the disk.

“I don’t mind horror movies!” Jaune said, “Bring it on.”

_ Well, at least Elm will stop nagging me to watch it so she can get it back. _

Marrow nearly bit his lip to the point it bled stifling a scream as the movie’s villain, a monster that was an exaggerated combination of at least three different types of Grimm, bit the head off of one of its victims suddenly and violently. His hands gripped the couch tightly and he swallowed hard. Gods, he hoped Jaune wasn’t looking at him, hoping he didn’t look uncool as they watched his  _ much gorier than Elm had bothered mentioning, thanks Elm _ , and he turned his head to make sure Jaune didn’t see--

Jaune’s hands were covering his eyes. Marrow suddenly forgot his own fear because,  _ oh no, he’s cute _ . Marrow decided to pause the movie, to give the two of them a moment. He reached out and gently took one of Jaune’s hands and pulled it off of his face.

“Are you okay?” Marrow said, smiling a bit. Jaune’s eyes widened and he turned away.

“I-I wasn’t scared, okay? I’m a huntsman. It’s just…” Jaune stammered, obviously embarrassed.

“It’s okay. I’m scared too. Elm didn’t warn me that this movie was gonna be a freakin’  _ gorefest. _ ” Marrow admitted, gently squeezing the blonde’s hand in his own. Jaune looked back at him, cheeks reddening again. Jaune looked down at their hands and smiled a bit. Marrow’s tail started wagging.

“If you want, we can stop this and watch something else. Like...a comedy or something?” Marrow offered.

“Sure, but...can we just…” Jaune looked down a bit, “Can we hold hands a little longer?”

“Yeah!” Marrow agreed, now blushing himself, “Sure. Of course.”

They watched a cartoon adventure movie instead, about two friends who leave home by train and go on an adventure together. They sat a bit closer now, and they’d ordered some take-out noodles, and save while eating or getting up to go to the bathroom, Marrow found Jaune’s hand barely left his own the whole night. Every time he remembered, noticing again, his tail began to wag again.

_ He’s too cute _ , Marrow thought, with a smile.  _ I’m screwed. _


	4. Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marrow ponders what he's fighting for after the explosion.

Guilt seated itself deeply in the pit of Marrow’s stomach, weighing him down. He felt personally responsible for this, standing in the fog that remained of that giant whale Grimm that had been attacking Atlas just moments before. They were gone; whatever that flash of light was, whatever had killed the Grimm, had taken more than just them. Ren, Yang, Oscar...Jaune. They were gone.  _ And it’s all our fault. _

The flight back to base is one that Marrow barely registers; he just focuses on flying them back, getting them away from there, because the moment he thinks too much about what’s going on he knows he’ll break down. He’s an Ace Operative, though. He cannot allow himself to break until it’s over for sure. After all, it’s his duty.

He nearly breaks when Ironwood smashes his desk. When the man he looked up to flies into a rage about them letting go of Jaune and his group, their  _ only chance _ having just been their allies just days before. Ironwood was going to use them to lure in Penny, to get her to open the vault. As collateral. As hostages. The gears in Marrow’s head start churning.

_ “You don’t want to be a part of this at all anymore.” _ He remembered Jaune’s teammate Ren saying to him. At the time, he’d responded like a typical soldier, but he’d already been having doubts since they fought team RWBY, since Ironwood started talking about raising Atlas even higher into the air. Could they even still do that, now, with the barriers around the city down?

At this point, he wouldn’t put it past Ironwood to try anyway. No, the man he’d followed, _obeyed_ loyally, was not the hero he thought he was. He was done making excuses for this madness, being a part of something he knew wasn’t right. He kept thinking about Jaune, the others too, but mostly Jaune. About the sweet guy from Mantle who shared coffee with him and was just as much of a dork as he was. The smile that made Marrow’s tail sway like he’d gotten a surprise gift. The kind, caring huntsman who was a brilliant strategist and just wanted to help as many people as he could.

_ I’m so sorry. I wanted to know you better. You deserved better. _ These thoughts kept swimming through his mind, along with Mantle, who was now being threatened by the very man he’d stayed loyal to, and Jaune’s friends, who would no doubt hate them,  _ him _ , for causing the deaths of their friends.

He didn’t think when he called Ironwood out, save finally letting out the thoughts he’d been burying for the sake of  _ duty _ . All the work he’d done to get to this point and he found that he’d just been another cog in a machine that was on the road to self destruction. He nearly dies pouring his heart out, finally letting out his anger, finally ripping off the figurative collar. That same heart skipped a beat when he’d heard Ironwood’s gun cock behind him. He’s hit, tackled to the ground, barely registering it as Winter takes him away. 

He can’t find the words once they get to the elevator. Winter says something about them getting out of there, defecting, getting help to stop Ironwood from doing something terrible. He knows she has just as much reason to be broken, arguably even more so; she’d been used as a pawn even more than he had. But it all barely registers over his thoughts of  _ Jaune _ , of what could have been if things hadn’t gone so horribly wrong, as the heartbreak finally takes over and tears spill freely from his eyes.

_ I’m so, so sorry. _


	5. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune has a nightmare and Marrow does his best to comfort him.

Jaune splashed the cold water he’d cupped into his hands onto his face and sighed. Nightmares weren’t something he had often but the one he’d just hand had shaken him in ways he hadn’t felt in a while. It had been a while since the last Cinder nightmare; usually dreams of him fighting her and seeming to do well until she stopped holding back. Flames would often be the last thing he would see before being shocked back awake. But this time was different, because this time he was not alone.

_ Marrow had been one of Atlas’ great Ace Operatives, his semblance being able to freeze people in place with a snap of his fingers normally coming in handy in a pinch. Yet, in the dream, Cinder seemed almost immune to anything the two of them did. She’d broken their auras and their weapons and had them both on their knees. Then she grabbed Marrow by the head, he being too weakened to struggle, his blue eyes silently pleading. _

_ “I am going to destroy everything you love.” Cinder spoke, her golden eyes baring down at him with a glow that was demonic. Her Grimm features were even more prominent, a skull covering half her face, her skin pale like Salem’s, almost. And then she spoke in another voice, a voice he hadn’t heard outside of a recording in some time. A voice she had no right to have. _

_ “Just so you never forget me.” Cinder says in Pyrrha’s voice, before Marrow’s entire body is engulfed in flame. _

Jaune had barely contained the scream, quietly walking into the bathroom and sitting on the floor for several minutes, face placed against the cold tiles as tears spilled from his eyes and hushed sobs and hiccups echoed. It had been a few minutes since then, he’d calmed down, or so he thought, as he’d splashed more water on his face.

“Jaune?” Marrow’s groggy voice whispered on the other side of the door. Jaune felt his hands shake before he wiped at his eyes again.

“Yeah?” He called back, hoping the cracking of his voice wasn’t too obvious.

“Are you okay?” Marrow asked, a little more awake.

“...I...yeah.” Jaune stammered, looking at the mirror and seeing how red his face was.

“...Can I come in?” Marrow asked.

“...yeah.” Jaune sighed. He’d left the door unlocked, so Marrow slowly opened the door with no trouble. He had bedhead and he was rubbing sand out of his eyes, and what little part of Jaune that was still coherent thought  _ how cute _ . After a moment, Marrow sighed softly.

“I heard you wake up. I was worried.” he mumbled. Jaune sighed.

“I’m sorry. It was...just a nightmare.” Jaune muttered, looking down. Marrow nodded, running a hand through his hair, shoulder length while left down.

“I get that. I have them sometimes, too. Kind of hard not to.” Marrow sighed. “Wanna talk about it?”

“No. N-not right now.” Jaune stammered, looking away. A moment later, Marrow’s hand was on his shoulder.

“Come back to bed.” Marrow murmured softly, his hand trailing down Jaune’s arm to his hand, taking it softly. Jaune’s breath hitched softly.

“Okay. I don’t think I can go back to sleep, though.”  _ Not after a nightmare like that. _

“That’s okay.” Marrow spoke softly, leaning and pressing his forehead into Jaune’s. He led Jaune back into his bedroom, to the bed that was just big enough for the two of them. Marrow sat on the bed and Jaune sat next to him. Marrow’s thumb brushed his knuckles. The dam broke, tears spilling anew.

“I just...don’t wanna lose anyone else, Marrow.” Jaune whispered, breathing shakily. Marrow’s free hand brushed Jaune’s tears back and cupped his chin.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily. Don’t worry.” Marrow spoke, his voice soft. Jaune had barely spoken to him about his last past partner, about  _ Pyrrha _ . But he knew he couldn’t go on forever not talking about it, especially if they were going to be in a relationship.

“There’s...so much I should tell you, but I don’t know where to start.” Jaune sobbed.

“You don’t have to right now.” Marrow whispered. “When you’re ready, we can talk about it. I know you’ve lost a teammate...but I won’t push you to talk about it until you want to.”

“Thank you.” Jaune murmured, leaning onto Marrow’s shoulder. Marrow’s arm wrapped around his back, his hand rubbing his shoulder.

“Wanna lay down?” Marrow asked. Jaune nodded.

“If you don’t mind me...listening to your heartbeat.” Jaune murmured softly.

“Of course.” Marrow whispered. So they adjusted, laying down on the bed, Marrow on his back with Jaune curled to his side with his head on his chest. After his nightmare, Jaune found that Marrow’s heartbeat was more comforting than anything else. Tears were still spilling from his eyes but his breathing had evened out, becoming calmer. Marrow’s hand gently caressing his back, rubbing circles, further soothing Jaune.

“Jaune...I think I might...really like you.” Marrow whispered, after some time of the two of them laying like that. He leaned up slightly when he didn’t hear a response. Jaune had fallen back to sleep. Marrow sighed, smiling softly.

_ Whenever you’re ready. _

**Author's Note:**

> Look once this idea came into my head I just ran with it; I know dogs can't have chocolate and I figured it would be kind of funny if Marrow was at least mildly allergic to it. But hey, it worked out and now they're on a date! They're gonna have some coffee and cheese danishes. Yay!
> 
> Okay hopefully you enjoyed this little half-assed snippet, I hope I'll have the spoons to put more effort into the rest of this week lol. And finish it on time this time. - Kat


End file.
